Drowned In Sound's Scores

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For 4,812 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 53% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 44% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 71
Highest review score: 100 It Won't Be Like This All the Time
Lowest review score: 0 BE
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,477 out of 4812
  2. Mixed: 1,220 out of 4812
  3. Negative: 115 out of 4812
4812 music reviews
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    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Wonderful Crazy Night
    Everything about Wonderful Crazy Night is utterly predictable, from its subject matter to its comprising 100% mid-tempo ballads, be they boogie-woogie piano (‘Looking Up’, ‘England and America’) or acoustic guitar lighter than a Peter Kay show (‘I’ve Got 2 Wings’, ‘Tambourine’). But despite this--and perhaps in no small part thanks to T Bone Burnett adding a lovely warm country tinge in the production--none of it grates.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Computers & Blues
    Computers and Blues, ultimately, just passes the test with a studious recount. It is neither atrociously bad nor staggeringly good: no stand-outs, no teeth-clenching clunkers. It is just okay.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon)
    Despite being twice the length of the film it soundtracks the album still clocks it at around 30 minutes and captivates enough with its sense of atmosphere, drama and melodic capabilities to make those 30 minutes fly by like a rocket straight into the moon's eye.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Sensuous
    Think of Sensuous as like walking round a modern art museum: sometimes difficult to fathom, always a perverse thrill.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Interiors
    For an album so heavily influenced by architecture, it’s sorely lacking in structure and shape, and ultimately fails to make an imprint in spite of its broadened horizons.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Alpinisms
    When SSVIIB play to their strengths--most of the time--the songs are so smooth that you lower your expectations for any strong hooks, as you would when listening to ambient, only to discover that you’re caught up in a glorious anthem,making this a kind of secret dance-music you didn’t know you were swaying to.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    In Our Bedroom After The War
    In Our Bedroom After The War feels like the conclusion of a journey towards the summit of mount indie pleasance.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Space Ducks
    Space Ducks is a must have for fans, and a superb introduction for those unfamiliar with his work.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Delirium
    Delirum has the feel of a late-period Britney album, where production is prized above personality.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    1984
    It’s summer-break music for overachievers who grew up to be misanthropic. It’s nightmare symphonic, something that’d play in the movie of your life once you’ve died and the credits rolled. Stripped back more than we’re used to from Joan of Arc, 1984 preserves their sense of humour in the track names only littering their work instead with pure statements of intent.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Himalayan
    An album diluted by the indecision of its creators.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Back on the Planet
    In its totality, Back on the Planet works as a decent upgrade from Spacebase, despite its weird results.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'
    It is definitely a record that demands repeated attention, as a cursory listen will not unveil all its hidden gems. It's instantly accessible than his previous records, but when Cudi is on his game he reaps unignorable rewards.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
    They’ve defied compartmentalisation again, managed to avoid crippling themselves in their dramatic reduction of outright 'singles' material, and left the door open to a number of future experiments. Unfortunately it just means that Tonight becomes a makeweight.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Deep Field
    Even if, as a whole, The Deep Field isn't quite as rewarding as Wasser's first two records, it's an altogether different, diverse and challenging experience. Thankfully, that voice remains intact: vulnerable but somehow powerful.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    This Is All Yours
    Overall, then, This Is All Yours is a respectable follow-up to an acclaimed debut that raised the bar for alternative music.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Moonlight
    While it’s an intriguing album, it’s one where ideas lack a little conviction.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Shallow Bed
    It's too precise, too ordered to fully lift, and, unlike the band's live shows, too damn earnest.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Another Eternity
    This brooding, almost gothic feel is the key to this album’s success, and proves that Purity Ring are far more complex than their surface lacquer of innocence may have led us believe.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Old Money
    It's just as easy to loathe this record as it is to love it, but enough moments of merit exist to stifle any doubts over the quality of Rodriguez-Lopez' output as a solo artist.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Where You Stand
    The worst thing you can say about anything on this record is that they’re solidly crafted, faultless songs.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Time Capsules II
    There really isn't much not to like about Time Capsules II; it would take a lot of energy to summon up any hatred for it, like hating a new-born puppy, or your own child.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Good Grief
    The songs flow by and are engaging enough, but as soon as they’ve finished you’ve totally forgotten them.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Twilight Saga: New Moon [OST]
    When a soundtrack works this well, with each track slotting naturally into a strongly cohesive body of work, you begin to wonder about the clamour that is sure to come from bands and singer songwriters to put their work forward towards featuring on the next film's soundtrack.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Berlin: Live At St. Ann's Warehouse [Live]
    Berlin: Live At St Anne's Warehouse is basically one of the most creepily eloquent records of Lou Reed's career, tarted up in the sort of bombastic style that ironically may see it received better in the classic rockin' days of 1973.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ski Mask
    There's much to admire here, but when you’ve stared into the sun for too long, it’s hard to see the dimmer lights.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Air Conditioned Nightmare
    On The Air Conditioned Nightmare some of the songs feel reverse-engineered, with vocals serving to glue the songs together rather than providing a focal point in themselves.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    In Your Honor
    Sure, the Foos are excellent at what they do. It’s just unfortunate that what they do is so unavoidably mediocre.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Romancing
    It's an unabashed throwback, but it's a throwback that's accomplished, likeable, and a lot more fun that it probably should be.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    These Walls of Mine
    It's those thematic ideas of self-worth and pride that beget the sort of personal, intimate relationship that we've come to recognise in the music of many of the Erased Tapes family over the last five years, and that's something that will always be worth hearing.
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